Turkey President Warns of War Between Christianity and Islam Over Austrian Mosque Closures

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned of a possible “war” between Christianity and Islam after the right-wing Austrian government announced it would shut down seven foreign-funded mosques and could expel dozens of Turkish Muslim imams in its crackdown on political Islam.

Responding to the recent news, Erdogan called the Austrian government’s vow to shut down the mosques and expel 60 imams on grounds that they violated a 2015 guideline banning foreign funding of religious institutions as “anti-Islamic.”

According to Germany’s public international broadcasting outlet Deutsche Welle, Erdogan gave a speech Saturday in Istanbul and commented on the announcement made the day before by conservative Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz.

“These measures taken by the Austrian chancellor are, I fear, leading the world towards a war between the cross and the crescent,” Erdogan was quoted as saying.

“You do this and we sit idle? It means we will take some steps too,” Erdogan continued.

He asserted that the “western world should get their act together.”

According to The Washington Post, at least one of the mosques being closed by the government is believed to be one that is linked to Turkish nationalists. Meanwhile, the six others are being operated by an organization called the Arab Cultural Religious Community.